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Iteration Planning

Note

Important

Iterations are the heartbeat of an XP project. When an iteration starts, stories flow in to the team as they
select the most valuable stories from the release plan. Over the
course of the iteration, the team breathes those stories to life. By
the end of the iteration, they’ve pumped out working, tested software
for each story and are ready to begin the cycle again.

Iterations are an important safety mechanism. Every week, the
team stops, looks at what it’s accomplished, and shares those
accomplishments with stakeholders. By doing so, the team coordinates
its activities and communicates its progress to the rest of the
organization. Most importantly, iterations counter a common risk in
software projects: the tendency for work to take longer than
expected.

The Iteration Timebox

Programming schedules die in inches. At first you’re on
schedule: “I’ll be done once I finish this test.” Then you’re
limping: “I’ll be done as soon as I fix this bug.” Then gasping:
“I’ll be done as soon as I research this API flaw... no, really.”
Before you know it, two days have gone by and your task has taken
twice as long as you estimated.

Death by inches sneaks up on a team. Each delay is only a few
hours, so it doesn’t feel like a delay, but they multiply across the
thousands of tasks in a project. The cumulative effects are
devastating.

Iterations allow you to ...

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